Taking risks
by Hinata HyuUchiha
Summary: A harmless stroll turns to a fight for survival as Terra is kidnapped by some bank robbers. But apparently someone is already on their tail but will he get to her before it's too late? (Should I make it a multi-shot or leave it like this?)
1. Chapter 1

Taking risks

It was supposed to be just another normal day for her and she had tried to even plan a nice weekend for herself and her friends as she was walking home and passed the Jump City bank.

But just in that moment, loud ringing sounds filled the air before 2 masked men stormed out of the bank, one of them carrying an apparently heavy bag on his shoulder.

She noticed a black van parked not very far from the bank and saw that the two robbers entered the van before the van started.

Another regular robbery…which was probably gonna be stopped by the Teen Titans. Terra turned away from the black van…when suddenly she was in collision course with another man.

"Out of the way, shrimp!" the man's deep voice called out to her but it was too late and both fell from the collision and Terra was left momentarily dazed.

But the small tiger tattoo on his wrist didn't escape her eyes.

Unfortunately, that notion didn't escape the thief either and before Terra had the chance to get on her feet…something hard collided with her head.

Her sight turned dark.

Not long after…the Teen Titans indeed arrived at the crime scene and as usual, Robin began his inquiring.

"How did they escape?" he asked.

"A few witnesses say that they saw them escape in a black van…and some of them say they took a hostage."

Robin's expression turned to surprise. "A hostage? This will make it harder for us to overwhelm them especially since they are armed. How long have they been gone?"

"Not more than a few minutes."

"They shouldn't be very far then. See if you can get their location, Raven," he ordered the half-demon but they were interrupted when their communicators rang.

And to their dismay, they saw that Red X was back in action as well as Overload – talk about a busy day!

"Great! Now we got 3 missions at once. I guess we should split then," Robin said, scratching the back of his head. "Alright, Starfire and I will go after Red X and you, Raven and Beast –"

"I found the van! It's not far from us!" he heard Beast Boy's voice from outside before checking to see what he had found out.

"Really? Then let's-"

"Let me handle this!" Beast Boy interrupted.

"But Beast Boy, they are armed," Raven interjected but he smirked at her.

"So what? So am I!"

"You know what I meant," she muttered with a disapproving glance.

"I know, I know. But you guys take care of Red X and Overload first. They are the big fish, not some lame robbers. Besides, I've beaten stronger bad guys," he bragged as the others gave concerned glances towards each other. "I'll be fine. And in worst cases, you can always call me," he flashed his communicator at them before taking off into the sky as a crow.

"Let's hope he doesn't get himself in trouble," Robin muttered before they scattered.

Terra slowly opened her eyes, flinching from the pain that suddenly set in her head. Why did her head feel like it wanted to explode?

She tried to blink the pain away before placing one hand on her head – why was that spot wet? She removed her hand for a moment and the little light that had managed to illuminate her spot…revealed red liquid on her palm – blood.

Terra took a look around, wondering where she was before realizing that she was in a van and the only light that helped her see anything at all was a small window that separated her from the driver.

Slowly, she scooted closer and noticed that the two robbers from before were there – she was in that black van!

"I can't just let her go!"

Terra noticed the deep voice from before before another different voice spoke.

"She hasn't even seen your face. Your mask was on, right?"

"Idiot! She saw my tattoo! Like that, the cops can find us in no time!" he shouted suddenly and after a short moment of silence did the other dare to speak.

"So what do you want to do?"

A small scoff. "Get rid of her, of course. We'll just need to find a good spot and then it's goodnight for little blondie."

Terra let out a small gasp at what she heard before she moved to the door of the van. She wouldn't wait until they found that spot.

She tried the handle but it wouldn't open so she slammed herself against the door a few times so it would open.

Unfortunately, the robbers noticed that and quickly pulled over and the driver opened the door just when Terra had slammed against the door again, causing her to fall right into the man's arms.

"Let me go! I-" Her shouts were quickly cut short when the other placed tape over her mouth.

"Now hold still," the first one said before the 3rd robber came up with a thick rope and even with all of her thrashing around, tied Terra's hands and feet together before she was thrown back into the van and the doors were closed upon her.

The van once again began moving and Terra again tried slamming the door open which earned her that the driver stopped once more and this time, tied her arms to one of the metal poles that were placed in front of the small window for protection.

Terra shouted and pulled on her restrains as best as she could but after about 10 minutes, she began to grow tired and just then, she noticed the faint laughter of the thieves.

Terra shut her eyes and clenched her fists in silent anger. She had defeated Slade…so how come she couldn't fight normal thieves?

Because she had no powers – because she refused to be a hero?

In a way, that thought mad her sick – like Beast Boy had said…she had been happy – for most part of her time as a titan, she had truly been happy.

But now? Now she might call herself happy…but it would never amount to her time as a Titan – as a hero.

A sudden, forceful push woke her from her thoughts as she was slammed against the wall as the van began skidding and she saw that one of the walls was slightly dented.

Had they been hit?

"What the-" one of the robbers said before the van rocked once more, this time to the front and the girl was slammed against another wall this time and the ropes cut into her skin but didn't snap.

Then she heard a crash and the van came to a sudden stop. Terra slowly sat upright, her back hurting from the impact. What had just happened?

There was a gunshot and she flinched at the sound.

"What was that?" one of the robbers said before the driver replied.

"Whatever it was that hit us, it won't anymore."

And in the blink of an eye, the van began moving again and Terra lowered her head. For a second, she had a slight flicker of hope – that there was someone who tried to help her or that some chance had presented itself for her escape.

But apparently, they just hit a car or something and were getting out before getting in trouble.

Terra shut her eyes, letting out a deep breath through her nose. Was this maybe the punishment for the things she had done in her 'past life'?

"Terra?"

Terra's eyes snapped open at that sound – at that unmistakably high-pitched voice. "Mmh!" was all she managed to get out, eyes on the verge of tears at seeing the shocked expression of Beast Boy looking down at her.

He still hadn't forgotten about her!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Taking chances

Terra told herself that she wouldn't cry in front of him but the tears in her eyes probably gave away how happy she was to see him – or how scared she might have been about her current situation.

She momentarily shut her eyes, wondering if this was only a figment of her imagination…only for him to prove to her that he was real when he began pulling off the tape from her mouth.

"Are you ok?" he asked a little concerned and eying her for any physical damage.

Terra momentarily pressed her lips together from the slight pain of having gotten that tape off. "How…how did you find me?" she asked slowly, avoiding eye-contact for a moment.

He raised a confused brow before a smile played on his lips. "Are you kidding? I'm a Titan. I'll always find you – uh…you know, people who need help," he said a little nervously.

Terra looked at him, a concerned expression on her face now. "We gotta get out. Those guys…are armed," she said seriously.

"I know. No need to tell me twice," he smiled. "I'll bust us out," he said as he began working on her restraints but since the knots were too tight he quickly morphed into a rat and began gnawing at the ropes.

It didn't take more than a few minutes until Terra was free to move her arms and legs and she twisted them a bit to relieve them of their numb- and soreness.

"Step back. I'll open the exit in no time," the shape-shifter announced before he faced the door of the van and Terra shifted her view also to the door in silent anticipation.

And in the next moment, she heard another gunshot and she instinctively ducked before slowly turning towards the direction of the sound.

"Did you really think we wouldn't check on you? Seems like you've brought a friend. Too bad he doesn't even seem to know how to open a door," one of the thieves sneered at her before they laughed.

The girl's heart beat in her throat, seeing the still smoking gun in his hand and she quickly turned and faced her former friend – and her heart skipped a beat, seeing him lying on the floor with a bleeding leg.

"No!" her voice came out unnaturally shrill before she moved closer to him, tears already streaming down her face.

So much for telling herself she wouldn't cry – for pretending she didn't know him.

"What are you…getting worked up about? I'll get us out," he replied with a clearly forced smile.

And this sight only caused heated anger to boil inside her.

"What did you do?" she shouted at the men sitting cheerfully in the front…when suddenly the van rocked once more, bumping on the road.

"What the hell's going on?" one of the men said in surprise before the van suddenly began…tilting from the hard rocking and the screeching tires indicated that the driver probably lost control of the vehicle.

But it didn't take long for the van to stop and Terra slowly sat up again once deeming the situation safe. But the situation only turned for the worse when the van began tilting again – headfirst this time and the schoolgirl heard frantic cries before apparently the thieves abandoned the van…that gradually felt like it was about to descend – like half of it…was suspended in the air.

Terra's heart dropped at that thought. Could they be on a cliff or something?

"Beast Boy! We gotta get up! The van's gonna drop down soon," she called and slowly helped him up and supporting him with her shoulder. "On 3, we'll ram the door together. 1, 2, 3!"

But the door didn't open so they tried a 2nd time – it didn't budge. But what did move was the van as it tilted even further and both slowly began to lose their foothold as gravity began to pull them down.

"Hurry!" she called as panic slowly spread in her and with a strained cry threw herself against the door as hard as she could.

And still nothing.

The van began to fall…when suddenly there was a loud roar before a Triceratops rammed the door open. And just as fast as the dinosaur had come, it was replaced by her former teammate who reached out his hand.

"Come on!"

Terra didn't hesitate, took hold of his hand and together managed to jump out of the dropping van and landing on hard asphalt. Glancing back, she saw to her shock that they hadn't been on a cliff – the street had a large, deep hole!

Could…her powers have caused this?

"I think…that's what it means to…'break a leg?" she heard the shape-shifter say and a strained laugh came out.

She turned to him with a relieved smile.

"I'll show you a reason to break a leg."

Terra's smile vanished at hearing the familiar voice but before she could do something, something was pressed against her mouth and nose and she quickly lost consciousness.

Meanwhile Robin angrily slammed his fist against the wall of a building as Red X had once again managed to slip through his fingers.

Hopefully the others had more luck.

So he contacted Raven and asked on her status.

"Everything's taken care of. Overload will be charging the jail cell's light bulbs from now on," came Raven's voice before Robin contacted Beast Boy.

Only, he didn't pick up.

"Is Beast Boy still not picking up?" Starfire asked worried.

"No. Once Cyborg and Raven get here we're gonna look for him. I just hope…nothing has happened."

Her head felt heavy and everywhere was dark. What had happened? Where was she?

This question caused her eyes to slowly flutter open and as her eyes wandered around, she noticed that she was in a warehouse.

She tried to get up but saw that she was tied up – in fact, she noticed that she was tied back to back to someone. "You ok?" she asked, knowing that it couldn't be anyone else but her former friend.

After a short moment of silence, he replied. "Yeah. Just took a nap."

That statement didn't make her feel any better and she glanced around for any sort of exit. And she found it in the form of a door right across from her, past several rows of shelves of large boxes and pipes.

"I found the exit! Think you can move?" she asked the shape-shifter.

"If I wouldn't be tied up…I guess," he muttered and Terra noticed that he seemed pretty tired.

"Hold on! If we can move towards the door, we can get out for sure," Terra continued before slightly rocking in her chair, making it tilt a slight bit.

"Can you rock?" she asked and there was another moment of silence.

"Like no one has ever rocked…before," he chuckled weakly and Terra felt worry spreading in her like a forest fire but she continued her back and forth motion, making the chair drag a little to the front.

"It's working! Keep it up!" she encouraged the shape-shifter but gradually noticed that it was harder to move the chair, having to swing harder to make it move the same distance.

Soon, she began to grow tired and stopped, trying to save her energy.

"You there?"

Silence.

"Beast Boy?" she asked but she still didn't receive any answer and she rocked the chair once more. "It's not funny!" she growled before hanging her head in disappointment…and that's when she noticed the small drops of blood under the chair and her heart dropped.

Did he fall…unconscious?

"Hold on just a little longer," she said, voice slowly laced with panic, trying to move closer to the door again.

It was tiring but after a few moments, she had finally managed to get in front of the door. Her hand reached for the doorhandle and was pushing it down when the door opened, slowly at first but then, more forcefully.

This caused the chair to fall down and recovering from the fall and opening her eyes, Terra saw the man from before standing over her.

"Trying to leave the party early? That's not gonna happen!" he sneered as he approached her and Terra struggled to get out of the ropes frantically. "Not so fast!" he said and pulled on Terra's hair, causing her to cry out in pain. "Wait! Where is that goblin of yours?" he asked and Terra's eyes wandered to the spot he was in...but he wasn't there.

Just then, came an angered cry and the changeling knocked down the man and tried to aim a punch at him only for him to be lifted and flung towards the wall.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Terra shouted, trying to somehow loosen the ropes.

"He can't...hurt me," Beast Boy replied as he got back up, leaning against the wall for support. Of course, he only stood on his good leg and Terra saw that his wound only got worse.

"You don't sound like that. How about some proof?" the man replied as he charged with a punch and the shape-shifter evaded and aimed a punch of his own but unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough before he got pinned against the wall by his throat.

"How about you stop playing the hero while you still got the brains to decide?" the man said annoyed as he pulled out a gun and pressed it to his head.

Terra struggled harder when she saw this and the ropes came loose!

"I can't hear you!" the man cooed, knowing that by the way he held the Titan, he couldn't say anything. And he placed his finger on the trigger to shoot.

But it didn't come that far as Terra leaped at him from behind with a warcry and he spun around, pulling on her arms to get her off.

And then came a gunshot and Terra dropped to the ground, fear spreading through her almost instantly.

"No. I didn't...want this. Beast Boy..." she stammered, tears stinging her eyes before she saw the man collapse and the changeling leaning against the wall in sitting position, eyes closed.

She slowly moved over to him, tears stinging her eyes. "I'm sorry. Please wake up..." she cried, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Please..."

And after a moment, she heard his voice - even if it was only above a whisper. "I'm...awake."

A gasp escaped her at hearing him talk and she stared at him, feeling a new wave of tears making their way to her eyes. But she suppressed them - she had to get him out of here before the other guys would come.

"Let's get out of here," she said before lifting him carefully and carrying him in her arms.

She opened the door and dashed through the hallway, quickly coming up to a door.

Was this the exit? She hoped it was.

With her elbow, she managed to open the door...only to be standing face to face with one of the thieves.

"No!" she cried as he aimed his gun at her.

"Hey! Weren't you supposed to be in the room?" he bellowed and Terra spun around and was turning the corner before he could shoot.

And she received a gun slammed into her face, sending both rolling to the ground. Her face was throbbing with pain and she felt blood on her lips.

"Didn't boss take care of you?" the other henchman asked but Terra didn't reply.

She got up and charged only to receive the gun to her head, making her dizzy momentarily. But she didn't give up and got up again. And she was knocked down eventually - again.

"I'm...not letting you hurt...my friend," she groaned, once again trying to get up when she felt a hand on her shoulder - it was Beast Boy - and he began lifting himself with her help.

"And...your stupid gun...won't even...scratch me," he growled in determination.

"But it will turn you into Swiss cheese," he grinned before aiming the gun at him to shoot.

And Terra prepared to charge...only for a batarang to hit it out of the man's hand.

"What?"

"Titans! Restrain them!" Robin called as the team disarmed both men.

Terra let out a sigh of relief and turned to her friend. "It's finally over," she smiled, wanting to support him.

But the gunshot that rang through the hall wiped the smile from her face.

"Terra!"

She saw her friend's shocked face and glanced down, seeing a large red spot on her chest and the pain increased with the growing of the red circle. But she didn't see the tiger tattoo of the arm that had pulled the trigger.

"N...no..." she choked out, realizing that the shot had gone through her from the back. She was supposed to protect him!

She felt herself loosing balance and the last thing she heard was the horrible cry of her crush before she saw black.


	3. Chapter 3

Epilogue:

Her chest hurt unbearably and the pain was getting only stronger and caused her to be sucked out of the darkness - and came face to face with white walls. "W-where..." she moaned, slowly looking around to see the team smiling down at her.

"You made it!" Robin beamed before Terra turned away.

What about Beast Boy?

She soon spotted him on a bed next to hers, eyes closed.

Was she...?

"Beast Boy?" she asked and the echo bounced off the walls and she turned away, her heart as heavy as stone. Her hands clenched to fists and she wanted to scream - to cry and to burst into pieces!

But his voice held her together.

"Terra. I'm awake," he smiled and Terra snapped back towards him...and saw his chest also bandaged.

He had been shot along with her, yet he was smiling like he had never been hurt before.

And his smile caused her to cry tears of happiness.


End file.
